Cut-out and shunt switch for electric lamps.



FY1 WAGNER & N. W. MGDONALD. OUT-OUT AND SHUNT SWITCH FOB, ELECTRICLAMPS,

APPLICATION FILED MAR.27, 1909.

Eatented Nov. 15,1910.

5) woe/whoa Frazd [Waynb UNITED sTAijn s PATENT OFFICE.

FRANK F. WAGNER AND NATHAN W. MCDONALD, F ELIZABETH, PENNSYLVANIA.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented NOV. 15, 1910.

Application filed March 27, 1909. Serial No. 486,121.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, FRANK F. WAGNER and NATHAN V. MCDONALD, citizens ofGreat Britain and the United. States of America, respectively, residingat Elizabeth, in the county of Allegheny and State of Pennsylvania, haveinvented certain new and useful Improvements in Cut-Out and ShuntSwitches for Electric Lamps, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to a combined cut out and shunt switch forelectric arc lamps.

It is a well known fact that the men employed in trimming arc lamps areexposed to considerable danger by reason of the fact that where poles ofthe kind herein shown are employed. and the lamp is pulled toward theupright pole along the horizontal cross arm thereof, the currentconducting wires droop about the trimmer, rendering him liable to severeelectric shocks if the insulation happens to be defective upon saidwire.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide meanslocated at the outer end of the cross arm of a pole of this type forautomatically cutting the lamp out of circuit as said lamp is drawntoward the main pole and at the same time forming a shunt across thedisconnected terminals, for since these are lamps are ordinarilyconnected in series, it is apparent that the cutting out of one lampwould extinguish all other lamps upon the circuit it such shunt were notprovided.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth in thedetailed description which now follows:

In the accompanying drawing, Figure 1 is a side elevation of the crossarm of a lamp supporting pole of the kind herein shown, having ourimprovements applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the partscomprising the present invention, and Fig; 3 is a transverse sectionupon line 3 of Fi 2.

Like numerals designate corresponding parts in all of the figures of thedrawing.

Referring to the drawing, the numeral 5 designates the cross orhorizontal arm of a lamp supporting pole having the usual brace rod 6,and the usual pulley supporting rod 7, which extends between pulleysupporting members 8 and 9 located respectively at the outer and innerends of the horizontal arm. Pulleys 10 and 11 indicated only in dottedlines support a cable 12, one end of which is connected to a yoke 13,and the other end of which is connected to an eye-bolt 1 1.

The parts so far described are all of the usual and well knownconstruction, the invention residing particularly in the parts now to bedescribed.

A bracket 15 carried by red 5 supports a spacing bar 16, said spacing.bar in turn carrying porcelain or other insulating members 17, 18, 19,and 20. Passing through the porcelain insulators 18 and 19 are tubes 21and 22 having flaring or bell months 23 and 2st. These tubes areprovided with binding posts 25 and 26 to which the main line wire 27 isconnected. A pulley 28 is mount-ed in the yoke 13 and travels upon therod 7. Downwardly extending members 29 support a lamp 30 in the usualmanner. The yoke 13 is connected to a spacing bar 17 which carries theeye-bolt 1 1. This cross bar carries porcelain or other insulatingmembers 31, 32 and 33. Mounted in the insulating members 31 and 33 areplug rods 3a and 35 adapted, as the bar 16 is moved toward the bar 16,to enter the tubes 21 and 22. Electrical conductors 36 and 37 connectthe lamp with binding posts 38 and 39 of the plug rods 34 and The switchactuating member 38 having its outer end. bent as at 39, see Figs. 1 and2, is adapted to engage a switch bar 410. This switch bar is pivotallyconnected at 411 to tube 22 and its free end enters between contactplates 42, these contact plates in turn being carried by arms A3 of tube21. The switch bar 10 is provided with an L shaped extension 14;.

It being understood that the bar 16 is fixed and that the bar 17 movesin or out upon the rod 7 as the operator pulls upon the cable 12, theoperation of the device is as follows: When the operator pulls upon thecable to draw the lamp toward him or to draw the bar 17 away from thebar 16, the bent end 39 of rod 38 which at this time lies behind the Lshaped extension 441 of switch rod 40, engages said extension and pullssaid rod up between the contacting plates 12, or to the positionillustrated in i Fig. 2. This, it will be seen establishes elec tricalcommunication between the tube 21 and the tube 22, and forms a shunt, sothat the current passes direct from binding post 25 to binding post 26and out through the line without passing through the lamp. Continuedmovement of bar 17 away from bar 16 entirely disengages plug rods 3% andfrom the tubes and consequently cuts the lamp out of electricalcommunication with the main line. After the lamp has been trimmedhowever, and the operator pulls upon the cable 12 to draw bar 17 towardthe bar 16, the plugs 34 and 35 first enter tubes 21 and 22, after whichthe bent end 39 of rod 38 contacts with the switch rod to force itsupper end out of engagement with the contact plates. This opens theshunt switch and current must then flow through the tube 21, rod 3%,binding post 38, lamp 30, binding post 39, plug rod 35, and tube tobinding post 26 and the main line. It is to be noted that the plug rods34 and 35 do not leave tubes 31 and 22 until after the shunt switch isclosed and that they enter said tubes before the shunt switch is opened.This prevents sparking at the ends of the tubes as the plugs leave them.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that simple andefiicient means are herein provided for accomplishing the objects of theinvention, but while the elements shown and described are well adaptedto serve the purposes for which they are intended, it is to beunderstood that the invention is not limited to the precise con-'struction set forth, but includes within its purview such changes as maybe made with- 111 the scope of the appended claim.

Having described our invention, what we 3 claim is:

In a device of the character described, the combination with ahorizontal supporting arm, of a horizontal rod carried thereby, a lampcarrying yoke, a pulley mounted therein and traveling upon said rod, 'atransverse spacing bar connected to said yoke, a pair of plug rodsmounted upon said spacing bar, a fixed spacing bar supported at theouter end of the horizontal arm, conductive tubes supported by the fixedspacing bar and adapted to receive the plug rods, contact memberscarried by one of said tubes, a switch arm pivotally connected to theother of said tubes, an L shaped extension carried by said switch armand a member having a vertical extension carried by the movable spacingbar, said L-shaped extension moving in the arc of a circle and intoengagement with said vertical extension as the plug rods enter saidconductive tube.

In testimony whereof we atlix our signatures in presence of twowitnesses.

FRANK F. WAGNER. NATHAN lV. MCDONALD lVitnesses D. MCBRYAR, FLORENCEHUNT.

